- Jun 8, 2010
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I'm glad you asked! Yes I have done it, I got a Mi Mix from Gearbest without issue, also I traded for an International Mate 9 a couple months before the US release. In both cases I knew ahead of time that the devices had LTE in the US. In the case of the Mate 9 all LTE bands from T-Mobile (except the newest that no one has), and in the case of the Mi Mix while it did not have band 12, it did have 2 other T-Mobile LTE bands and I almost always got a good LTE signal.
You need to check what radios/frequencies the device has BEFORE you import it, and you must accept what it has. Additionally there will be no US warranty, and returning the device will be difficult if not impossible.
You need to check specifically. SOME phones support some or all of the US LTE bands, but often there are no US LTE bands. As for VoLTE and WiFi calling, often/sometimes T-Mobile supports it on those phones, BUT AT&T almost NEVER does. At least this has been my experience. The key is to check BEFORE you buy and then be satisfied with what you are getting. When I bought my Mi Mix, I did just that. I knew it was missing band 12, but I was ok with that since it had the other LTE bands and WiFi calling DID work. 
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